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Pros & Cons of Selling During the Holidays
Pros and Cons of Selling During the Holidays
If you are thinking about listing your Raleigh Durham home for sale this fall, you might be concerned about showing it, and possibly having to move, over the holiday season. The holidays are already a busy time of year for most families, so you would be right to wonder if you are making a good decision by marketing your home between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Some sellers even take their homes off the market temporarily during the holiday season, but, before you make that choice, consider all the pros and cons to selling during this festive time of year.
Pros:
1. Buyers are serious. Buyers looking for a home during the holiday season are usually serious about getting under contract, or else they’d put it off. Often, they are starting a new job at the beginning of the year, or they want to get their children registered in school by the end of the holiday break, or maybe they want the tax break in the current year. Regardless of their reasons, if they are out looking in November or December, they are serious buyers.
2. There are not as many homes on the market. As a seller, you benefit from having fewer homes on the market to compete with. Less inventory combined with serious buyers means sellers get higher offers.
3. You can take advantage of holiday season curb appeal. While it’s recommended that you not over-decorate while showing your home, you can take advantage of the warm and festive vibes that holiday decorations add. Some white twinkle lights, a wreath on the door, and poinsettias lining your porch can add just the right cozy and inviting feel to win over buyers.
4. Cooler weather may invigorate buyers. The only thing worse than house hunting in the dead of summer is moving and unpacking in the dead of summer. On the other hand, the cooler temperatures of the holiday season may fuel buyers’ desire to get out on the hunt.
Cons:
1. You won’t have as many lookers. We noted that buyers shopping during the holidays are serious ones, but there will definitely be fewer buyers looking to move in Raleigh Durham than later in the New Year.
2. Showing your home may be more inconvenient. Again, it’s a busy time of year for most families, so do consider the inconvenience of having showings while you are preparing for the holidays or enjoying time off from school or work.
3. Business closings may slow down transactions. Many businesses have shortened hours or holiday closings, which means you or your buyers might have delays with such things as scheduling inspections and appraisals, clearing title or escrow payments, or getting repairs completed.
All in all, the market in the triangle is wonderful for sellers! You can’t really choose a terrrible time to list your Raleigh Durham house for sale. There are pros and cons to all of the different seasons. If you are looking to make a a move in the triangle, give us a call so we can set up a no strings consutlation about your home!
Zach + Cindi Honeycutt, Realtors, Movil Realty, 919-730-0777
What’s Motivating People To Move Right Now? Moving to Durham NC & Sorrounding Areas? Check This Out!
82,338 Reasons to Buy a House Right Now- Raleigh Durham Real Estate Update
82,338 Great Reasons to Buy a Home Today
Taking a Look at the national & Raleigh Durham Real Estate Market
The financial benefits of buying a home as compared to renting one are always up for debate. However, one element of the equation is often ignored – the ability to build wealth as a homeowner.
Most experts are calling for home prices to continue appreciating over the next several years. The most recent Home Price Expectation Survey, a survey of over one hundred economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists, expects home appreciation to increase as follows:
- 2021: 6%
- 2022: 4.5%
- 2023: 4%
- 2024: 3.6%
- 2025: 3.5%
Using their annual projections, the graph below shows the equity build-up a purchaser could earn, using a $350,000 home as an example:
A homeowner could increase their net worth by over $80,000 in five years. That’s an average of $16,000 annually. That number should be in any equation determining the financial benefits of owning a home compared to renting.
These are national averages. When we take a look at the Raleigh Durham real estate numbers, things look even better!
The average sales price of a Raleigh Durham home from 2020 to 2021 increased by 13% in just one year! From March 2019 to March of 2020, there was an increase of 5.6% in average sales price. If we don’t even take this years unprecedented bumber of 13%, year over year sales price increases are much higher than the national average. Meaning, your household wealth factor is greatly higher after only a couple of years!
Bottom Line
Homeowners are going to make a substantial amount of money in home equity over the next five years buying a home in Raleigh Durham. If you’re ready to buy a home in the triangle, let’s connect so you can enjoy this great benefit as well!
We are Zach & Cindi Honeycutt. Raleigh Durham real estate agents working to give you the benefit of 2 agents instead of 1! Give us a call anytime for a no strings buying or selling consultation.
The Honeycutts, Realtors, Movil Realty, 919-730-0777
Will the Raleigh Durham housing market bloom this spring?
Spring is almost here, and many are wondering what it will bring for the Raleigh Durham housing market. Even though the pandemic continues on, it’s certain to be very different from the spring we experienced at this time last year nationally. Here’s what a few industry experts have to say about the national housing market and how it will bloom this season.
Danielle Hale, Chief Economist, realtor.com:
“Despite early weakness, we expect to see new listings grow in March and April as they traditionally do heading into spring, and last year’s extraordinarily low new listings comparison point will mean year over year gains. One other potential bright spot for would-be homebuyers, new construction, which has risen at a year over year pace of 20% or more for the last few months, will provide additional for-sale inventory relief.”
Ali Wolf, Chief Economist, Zonda:
“Some people will feel comfortable listing their home during the first half of 2021. Others will want to wait until the vaccines are widely distributed. This suggests more inventory will be for sale in late 2021 and into the spring selling season in 2022.”
Freddie Mac:
“Since reaching a low point in January, mortgage rates have risen by more than 30 basis points… However, the rise in mortgage rates over the next couple of months is likely to be more muted in comparison to the last few weeks, and we expect a strong spring sales season.”
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist, First American:
“As the housing market heads into the spring home buying season, the ongoing supply and demand imbalance all but assures more house price growth…Many find it hard to believe, but housing is actually undervalued in most markets and the gap between house-buying power and sale prices indicates there’s room for further house price growth in the months to come.”
Bottom Line
The experts are very optimistic about the housing market right now! And we are optimistic about the local market here in Raleigh Durham. If you pressed pause on your real estate plans over the winter, let’s chat to determine how you can re-engage in the homebuying process this spring in the triangle! We would be honored to be your Raleigh Durham real estate agents! Call us or text us anytime, or connect with us on social media by searching @thehoneycuttrealtors
Zach and Cindi Honeycutt, Raleigh Durham Realtors, Movil Realty, 919-730-0777
Where Did All the Houses Go? Raleigh Durham Real Estate Update!
Where Have All the Houses Gone?
In today’s housing market, it seems harder than ever to find a home to buy in the Raleigh Durham area and beyond. Before the health crisis hit us a year ago, there was already a shortage of homes for sale. When many homeowners delayed their plans to sell at the same time that more buyers aimed to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and purchase a home, housing inventory dropped even further. Experts consider this to be the biggest challenge facing an otherwise hot market while buyers continue to compete for homes. As Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com, explains:
“With buyers active in the market and seller participation lagging, homes are selling quickly andthe total number available for sale at any point in time continues to drop lower. In January as a whole, the number of for sale homes dropped below 600,000.”
Every month, realtor.com releases new data showing the year-over-year change in inventory of existing homes for sale. As you can see in the map below, nationwide, inventory is 42.6% lower than it was at this time last year:
Does this mean houses aren’t being put on the market for sale?
Not exactly. While there are fewer existing homes being listed right now, many homes are simply selling faster than they’re being counted as current inventory. The market is that competitive! It’s like when everyone was trying to find toilet paper to buy last spring and it was flying off the shelves faster than it could be stocked in the stores. That’s what’s happening in the housing market: homes are being listed for sale, but not at a rate that can keep up with heavy demand from competitive buyers. In the Raleigh Durham real estate market, it’s common for a home to only stay active for 2 or 3 days and sell over asking price with multiple offers. We have seen some homes receive over 30 offers!
In the same realtor.com report, Hale explains:
“Time on the market was 10 days faster than last year meaning that buyers still have to make decisions quickly in order to be successful. Today’s buyers have many tools to help them do that, including the ability to be notified as soon as homes meeting their search criteria hit the market. By tailoring search and notifications to the homes that are a solid match, buyers can act quickly and compete successfully in this faster-paced housing market.”
The Good News for Homeowners
The health crisis has been a major reason why potential sellers have held off this long, but as vaccines become more widely available, homeowners will start making their moves. Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at Zonda, confirms:
“Some people will feel comfortable listing their home during the first half of 2021. Others will want to wait until the vaccines are widely distributed.”
With more homeowners getting ready to sell later this year, putting your house on the market sooner rather than later is the best way to make sure your listing shines brighter than the rest.
When you’re ready to sell your house, you’ll likely want it to sell as quickly as possible, for the best price, and with little to no hassle. If you’re looking for these selling conditions, you’ll find them in today’s market. When demand is high and inventory is low, sellers have the ability to create optimal terms and timelines for the sale, making now an exceptional time to move.
Bottom Line
Today’s housing market is a big win for sellers, but these conditions won’t last forever. If you’re in a position to sell your house now, you may not want to wait for your neighbors to do the same. Let’s connect to discuss how to sell your house safely so you’re able to benefit from today’s high demand and low inventory. We would be honored to be your Raleigh Durham realtors!
Are you connected with us on social media? We are most active on Instagram and we’d love you to be part of our world over there! You can find us on social media using @thehoneycuttrealtors
Until next time, have an awesome day!
Zach & Cindi Honeycutt, Realtors, Movil Realty, 919-730-0777